In November 2010, we went down to Chattanooga for the Upchuck 50k.  We had so much fun and really enjoyed the city, people and the terrain; that we decided to come back, this time for the Lookout Mountain 50 miler.  Since Dahlia stopped nursing in September, she has become more independent and couldn't wait to spend a weekend at grandma and grandpa's house.  Scott and I would be able to make it a quick trip and both run!  

December is a tough time to race. The days are shorter; your body wants to go into hibernation and motivation wanes.  I was able to stay healthy and fit leading up to the race.  Scott on the other hand, was not as fortunate.  He went in with very little training, a head cold and under a lot of stress.  To tell you the truth I was a bit nervous for him.

The race actually began in Georgia on top of Lookout Mountain at Covenant College.  It was a cold start.  I wore a long sleeve shirt, a vest, knickers, gloves and a Buff on my head.  For hydration I carried my vest filled with water, a bar and electrolyte pills. In my hand, a bottle filled with Perpetuum.  The first few miles were spectacular.  The trail wove along a cliff with towering rocks on our right and a drop off with a killer view on our left.

I was running with a large group and not too far behind was Natalie Sims.  She is a local.  I had met Natalie last year at Upchuck 50k.  She is very nice and a strong runner but unfortunately I did not recognize her with her hat and sunglasses on so I never said hello. Scott was just in front and when we hit the 1st aid station we ran together for some time after. He always seemed to drift ahead and I would catch up at each aid (or he would wait for me?).  

We hit a 100-yard long water hazard just before the 14-mile aid station where the water was crotch deep (knee deep for everyone else!).  Brrrrrr!  My feet never warmed up after that and actually were numb for a good portion of the race. Coming back up to Covenant College Aid station (mile 22) was a looonnnggg climb.  That threw my pace off but I felt confident that I was moving at a good clip and could make it up. I got there in 3 hours and 35 minutes.  I caught back up to Scott at the aid station.  We had drop bags here.  I took off my vest, dropped my bottle, picked up a flask of Perpetuum and a bar and headed out in less than 3 minutes.

The trail became twisty and wet as it edged along a brook. We popped out at a power line hill climb where Scott powered ahead of me.  There was a lot of nondescript trail and old road through this section that eventually brought us out to Lula Lake Aid Station.  I found Scott there again, grabbed a few boiled potatoes with salt and blasted down the road ahead of him.  There was a thunderous roar coming from the river on my left.  I glanced over my shoulder and saw an amazing 60-foot waterfall.  Wow!!!!!  The course took a quick right and straight up we went.  

There were ropes built in to help with the climb. Scott was with me again and we stuck together for a while. We hit a dirt road and climbed more gradually for a long time and then headed downhill for a long time, eventually coming to a river (maybe part of the same one we saw earlier?) The trail had been demolished from a tornado.  There were tons of trees down and brush everywhere. A lot of work had been done to make it passable.  Thank you to the crew that put the time in!  It made it slow going though.  

Eventually we popped out onto a paved road and crossed the street to Long Branch Aid station (mile 34).  I had a hard time finding my drop bag there but hooked back up with Scott and we were on our way for a 4.5-mile loop.  I was feeling a bit sluggish at this point. I ate some more potatoes and salt and increased my water consumption.  We continued on to another twisty section.  I noticed I was slowing a bit as a few racers started catching up with me.  Scott had gotten out ahead but on a downhill we reunited and he told me his quads were hurting him on the downhill.  I gave him some words of encouragement and soldiered on.  

I got back into a groove but this section took me a lot longer than I hoped.  My goal of under 9 hours was slipping away. I finally made it back to Long Branch (mile 38.5) where I refilled my pack with water and grabbed more Perpetuum and a box of JItterbeans.  I was hoping these would give me the jolt of energy I was looking for.  I choked down half the box (I can't stand the taste of coffee!) and waited for that burst.  It never manifested but I did feel motivated to push again especially when I made it back to Lula Lake Aid Station (mile 44) in less than 1 hour.  I pushed on with a renewed sense of purpose but the drive waned and my body was tired, as the trail never seemed to end.  

I did start catching runners as I neared the finish line.  I hit the power lines again and tried to fly down the hill knowing that the finish was not far off.  Back through the twisty, muddy section, up to the sports fields.  My 9-hour goal had passed and I was having trouble running the up hills but I could “smell the barn“ and even passed a few more racers to complete the course in 9 hours 16 minutes 20 seconds!  First woman and 20th overall!  

I headed straight to our car where I changed up right away but started shivering uncontrollably.  To my amazement and delight, Scott showed up at the car 20 minutes later!  We turned the heat on and got some recovery drink in.  We headed back up the finish to get some food and spent the next couple of hours in the medical tent that was being warmed by a stove. Scott and I had a blast talking with other runner and volunteers.  When the 3rd woman came in I got to stand on the podium and received some wonderful prizes.  Good times!